


feels like coming home

by playitagain



Category: Sex Education (TV)
Genre: Angst, Fluff, M/M, Mentions of Blood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-02
Updated: 2020-05-02
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:34:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23957737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/playitagain/pseuds/playitagain
Summary: Adam and Eric break up during university. Eric comes back for Adam years later.
Relationships: Eric Effiong/Adam Groff
Comments: 4
Kudos: 58





	feels like coming home

Adam leans back in the chair, a smile pulling up his lips. There are fireworks shooting off all around him, the sound echoing through the junkyard. Adam has his own fireworks lined up in the middle of the yard, where there are no trees to block the view and possibly set on fire.

It’s an easy night to just lean back and enjoy the sound of fireworks. The holiday today allows him to sleep in and forget about work for a few hours before he has to get back to reality. The night will probably end with him here, sun coming up as he enjoys the clattering of glass against the bat resting against his chair. 

Adam knows it must be a few minutes after midnight at this point. The fireworks have dulled down a bit and Adam pushes himself off the rickety chair to light his own fireworks. They’re in a nice line now, just enough light from his phone to set the spark before he runs across the junkyard. There is a vase waiting for him and he picks the bat up off the ground with a quick toss in the air before the bang of the fireworks accompanying shattering glass. 

It’s been a while since he visited this place and the small pieces of glass that flies toward his face has him pulling out the goggles he forgot about. He can feel a little trickle of blood on his cheek and he is quick to wipe at it as he heads back over to the next firework. 

He goes through the row slowly, not waiting to waist all the fireworks at once. The back and forth between the fireworks and bat have him sending most of the next half and hour walking back and forth, a small smirk tugging up the corner of his lips as he sets each firework off accompanied by his bat on glass. 

“What the fuck?! Some people are trying to sleep!”

The words have the bat slipping from Adam’s hand, startled as the next firework echoes in the night sky. The vase is still resting soundly on the rickety table, waiting to be shattered into a million little pieces. 

Adam takes a second to compose himself before he turns around, mouth open to yell at the other to mind his own business, but he has to pause. The light from the firework lights up the sky just enough for Adam to catch a glimpse of dark features, eyes shining bright like the fireworks in the sky. 

Adam’s breath catches in his throat as he looks into the eyes of the only person he has ever truly loved. He can hardly believe that Eric is standing on the other side of the junkyard, arms crossed over his chest and frown pulling down his lips. Is Adam dreaming right now? Had he actually fallen asleep in those chairs only to dream of the one good thing he had in his life. It wouldn’t be the first time he’s dreamed about seeing Eric again. 

“Adam?” The words are like a breath into the night air, shock and surprise etched into the simple word. Adam remembers the last time he heard that voice, only two years ago, in this very spot. Eric had been standing across from him, frown pulling down his lips and tears leaking from his eyes. It had been the worst night of Adam’s life, one that still causes his chest to ache. “Adam, what are you doing here?” 

Adam lets out the breath he’s been holding, eyes blinking as he takes a step closer to the other. He could just be seeing things. There was a chance he had been hoping it would be Eric and the light had distorted his vision into thinking it was the other. It could just be some stranger who wandered into the junkyard, drunk and confused on New Year’s.

The problem is that the bat on the ground has Adam falling forward and he’s much too distracted to catch himself before his hands can make contact with the ground below him. The problem is that the ground is littered in glass and said glass digs into Adam’s palms and knees, causing pain to emitte through his body. “Fucking, hell,” he groans, trying his hardest not to fall onto his side and cause more damage. 

It has the other running over to him, hands warm as they reach out to touch Adam’s shoulder. “Are you ok?” The words have Adam looking up, only to meet the familiar dark eyes. They’re lined with that same blue, the one that Adam was always drawn too. It’s the color Eric used to wear because Adam made an offhand comment once about how fierce it made him look. 

“Eric,” Adam breaths, blinking a few times to make sure he really isn’t dreaming. Eric is standing in front of him, eyes bright and beautiful just like the last time they saw each other. In that moment, he doesn’t know what to do. Eric has his hand on Adam’s shoulder, and Adam doesn’t want him to let go. He never wanted him to let go in the first place. It had broken Adam’s heart to watch the other walk away from him two years ago. 

“Adam, are you ok?” Eric asks again. The words finally snap Adam out of his trance, shaking his head as he comes back to reality. Eric is standing in front of him, looking older and more beautiful than ever, but it’s the same Eric that broke his heart two years ago. Fuck, he can’t let the other get to him like this. “Are you hurt?” 

The pain comes back in full force when those words leave Eric’s lips. The glass digging into his palms has blood leaking onto the ground and dirt soaking his jeans. “Fuck,” he grumbles, going to push himself off of the ground. He can see little specks of glass digging into his skin and he can’t believe his luck. This was supposed to be a lowkey night that he set off fireworks and forgot about his shitty life only for him to end up hurt both physically and emotionally. 

“That doesn’t look good,” Eric states, hand going to wrap around the back of Adam’s so he can hold up his palm to look at the damage. Adam is quick to snatch his hands back, going to rub the blood off onto his pants, only to think better of it. He’ll just dig the glass into his skin more if he does just that. “Let me help with that.”

Adam doesn’t really know what to say. He’s been rehearsing words in his head for years, wishing he would see the other again. The problem is that those words fly right out of his head now that Eric is actually in front of him. The fact that Eric is still touching him isn’t helping. It sends the same electrical shocks up his arm that it did when they were kids kidding themselves that this would last forever. 

Adam realizes in that moment that Eric is leading him over to the two chairs situated to the side of the junkyard, the ones they used to sit in all the time when they were still together. “I’m fine,” Adam finally says, stopping in his tracks as he finally pulls his hand away from the other. It stings with each movement, skin pulling and aching around the glass. “I can do it myself.” It wouldn’t be the first time he’s had to clean himself up and he is sure it wouldn’t be the last. He has a bit of a reputation at work for tripping over the wires and falling off ladders. He gets distracted pretty often, which is usually what leads to the accidents at his job. 

“Seriously, just let me help.” The words are firm, final. It’s the same tone Eric used to use when they were together and he wanted something. The same tone that Adam found he couldn’t say no to. Adam still finds that he is powerless against the other and simply shakes his head in disbelief at himself. 

“Fuck, fine,” Adam mumbles, making his way to the chairs. He plops himself down in them, fingers going to run through his hair before he realizes that isn’t a good idea. There is blood dripping down his arm and he frowns. It’s going to be hell trying to get this out of his jacket. 

Adam is busy examining the damage to his knees when Eric steps in front of him, a first aid kit in hand. “It was still there,” Eric states, a nervous smile pulling up his lips. ‘From when we used to come here’ hangs in the air between them and Adam is almost tempted to just get up and leave. This whole night just took such an unexpected turn. He didn’t think he would ever see Eric again. He didn’t think the other was coming back after university. When they broke it off, he made it pretty clear that he wasn’t. Adam wonders what changed. 

The fingers on his palm are gentle and silence falls between the two of them. Adam doesn’t fight it as he holds his hand out for the other, frown pulling down his lips when Eric flashes a light on the damage. It’s much worse than Adam thought and he knows it is going to affect his work for the next few days. He was such an idiot. 

Eric ends up having to situate the light at the right angle. The shards of glass aren’t deep, but it will take two hands to start pulling out the few pieces that are still sticking into his skin. He doesn’t expect the first one, trying his hardest not to look at the other, and whines in pain when Eric pulls the piece of glass from his skin. “Fuck,” he mumbles again, finally glancing at the skin. Eric glances up at him then, a frown pulling down his lips as he looks at Adam. 

He looks like he wants to say something, ask Adam something, but his mouth closes and he is quick to glance back down at Adam’s hand, going to start on the next piece of glass. From what Adam can tell, there aren’t any small pieces so he shouldn't have to worry about missing any. 

Adam knows Eric has never been one for silence so he’s surprised Eric is quiet for so long. Eric was always filling the silence when they were together, telling him crazy stories about everything. Adam used to love listening to him for hours at night when Eric would just chat on and on about his time in university. Adam would usually fall asleep to the sound of his voice, excited and animated as he went on about this class or that class. 

That’s why he isn’t surprised when Eric pulls out another piece and glances at Adam, eyes fluttering a bit as he finally speaks. “What have you been up to?” The question is easy. Actually, Adam is pretty sure Eric knows exactly what he has been up too. Otis and Eric were still good friends and Adam basically only hangs out with Ola, who still has to put up with Otis because of their parents. Adam was sure his life choices were all getting back to Eric. 

Adam doesn’t say that though. He lets the unsaid ‘since we broke up’ hang in the air for only a moment before he replies. “I’m working toward my electrical license.” It’s something he’s been working on for a while. He was never the best at school so he’s taken extra time to study for it. It’s so stupid that he could know so much about the actual job, but still needs to do so much studying for the written test. It didn’t make sense that the test didn’t take into account his own experience and skill on the actual job. 

“Oh, that’s great,” Eric smiles, eyes shifting to look at the cuts on Adam’s palm. He sticks his tongue out in concentration for a moment and Adam gets the sudden urge to kiss him. He knows he can’t though. That passed a long time ago even if he still dreamed about it. “How long have you been working as an electrician?” 

Eric knows damn well how long. He answers anyway. “Four years. I’m working on starting my own business once I pass.” Adam had been two years into an apprenticeship when they broke it off and it only took four years until he could get his license. 

Eric looks proud. That’s the only way that Adam can describe the look on his face. He looks so proud of Adam in this moment and it has Adam’s heart pounding. It’s the same way he looked when Adam decided to take a few classes to learn the trade and get an apprenticeship. It has Adam’s heart pounding and his cheeks heating up. “That’s amazing, Adam.” The way Eric says his name is like music to his ears. 

Adam has to shake himself out of it though, which is easy as Eric starts to wipe down the cut on his hand, causing it to sting. Adam sucks in a breath and forces himself not to pull his hand away. “What about you?” he asks, trying to get his mind off the pain in his palm. Eric has finally finished cleaning it now and is wrapping gauze around his hand. He knows the guys at work are going to rag on him tomorrow. 

“I’m actually moving back.” Eric says it like it is the most casual thing in the world. He says it like they didn’t break up two years ago because Eric was sure he wasn’t coming back. He had been so sure he was never coming back that he broke it off with Adam, telling Adam that he should focus on his work. It hurts to think the other didn’t tell him this earlier that he was back.

He realizes when Eric takes his other hand that the silence has been sitting between them for a long time, making the silence awkward now. Eric is waiting for Adam to reply, but the problem is Adam doesn’t know what to say. Can they get back together? No. He can’t say that. Eric has probably moved on by now. He is probably happy with somebody who is going places. “Cool,” Adam finally settles on. 

“Yeah...I’m living with my parents now, but I have an apartment lined up. I actually own the whole building.” Adam is definitely impressed. He could barely afford the small apartment he moved into just a few months ago, nonetheless buy a whole building. He was still mostly living off his mother’s cooking. 

“That’s great. Good for you,” Adam mumbles, fingers moving to run through his hair. It’s longer than it has been in a while and he knows he needs to get it cut at some point. He kinds of likes running his fingers through it though. It gives him something to do with his hands when he gets nervous. Like right now. It’s hard to do with gauze, but he makes it work. 

Eric doesn’t say anything for a moment. Adam wants to ask more. He wants to ask Eric what he is doing with the building, what he is doing for work. The last time they talked Eric was starting his graduate program on the other side of the country. It’s why they broke up. He had gone to university only an hour away, which made it easy for them to see each other, but the other side of the country would prevent most weekend rendezvous especially since Adam was working a second job at that point on the weekends. 

The silence seems to break Eric though. He is finishing up Adam’s other hand, which wasn’t nearly as bad when he finally looks back up at Adam. “Look, Adam, I was actually hoping I would run into you. I know we left things at a shitty place, but I never forgot about you.” 

The words have Adam pulling his hand away. There is gauze wrapped around this hand as well now and Adam knows he needs to take another look at his knees, but he can’t take his eyes off of Eric. He hates that he wants to tell the other that it’s been the same for him. He’s never stopped thinking about Eric. He spends most nights hoping just to run into the other again. It’s pathetic that he still hopes after all these years. 

“What are you saying?” Adam asks, brows furrowed as he watches the other closely. Eric lets out a sigh as he stands up to his full height, having to squat to get a better look at Adam’s hands. Adam watches as he steps away from him, pacing back and forth in front of Adam. He’s in the dark now and Adam hates that it is so much harder to read his emotions now. 

“I don’t know!” Eric throws his hands up in frustration. “I think- I just-” He finally stops, eyes meeting Adam’s. It’s like he can look into Adam’s soul. Adam used to think the same thing when they were together. 

It only takes a minute for resolve to make its way onto Eric’s features and the other is lunging forward, lips crashing against Adam’s. Adam nearly falls backwards as he ends up with a lapful of Eric, lips moving frantically over Adam’s. 

Adam wants to sink into the kiss. He wants to simply fall back into things, but Eric broke his heart. It took him months before he even started to feel normal again after the other left. He couldn’t afford that kind of heartbreak again. He couldn’t afford this being a fluke, sper of the moment thing.

With all of his resolve, he pushes the other away, turning his head so he can’t see the look on the others face. “I can’t do this again.” It hurts just saying that, because he wants to do this again. He wants to hold the other. He wants to kiss him. He wants to love him with every fiber of his being. It’s so stupid how in love with Eric he still is. Eric helped him learn how to love and he wanted that again, but he couldn’t afford the heartbreak a second time. 

“Adam, breaking up with you was the biggest mistake of my life,” Eric breaths. He’s panting now, still sitting on Adam’s lap. The chairs have gotten rusty these last few years and Adam is worried it will break. He doesn’t push the other off though. He’d fall again just to be this close to Eric a little bit longer. 

“You left.” There is hurt lacing his words as he finally turns to look at Eric again. He knows there is pain on his face, sadness. The break up hurt so much and he feels like he is living through it all over again. “You left me,” he repeats. 

Eric is just mirroring his pain, a frown pulling down his lips. He brings his hands to rest on Adam’s cheeks. “I know and I regret it every day. I should have never broken up with you. I should have given long distance a try. I’m so sorry.”

Eric looks just as messed up as Adam. It’s in the moment that Adam wonders if he’s been with anyone else. It’s in that moment that Adam wonders if Eric came back for him. The thought is ridiculous. Eric wouldn’t have come back for him, but it is a nice thought nonetheless. “I can’t go through that again,” Adam whispers. 

Eric gives him a small smile, nervous and hopeful. He brushes a stray hair out of Adam’s face, gentle and kind. Adam hasn’t felt this loved in a long time and it’s only Eric brushing hair out of his face. It was a little sad. “I won’t do it again. I’m here to stay. I’m here for you.” 

Adam freezes at the words. He had only been hoping that Eric would say something like that to him. He had hoped Eric would come back for him. Dreamed it. “What?” Because he has to hear it again. He needs to know the other is serious about this whole thing. 

“I’m sorry I left. I came back for you.”

The only sound between them is their breathing, deep and even as they look at each other. Adam wants to fling himself forward, pull Eric close, but he knows Eric has been home a few days. Why the hell would he wait this long to reach out to Adam? “But you’ve been home for days.” 

Eric frowns, finally pulling himself away from Adam. “I didn’t know how to approach you. I was waiting for the right time. Actually, I’ve been here almost every night looking for you. I just didn’t expect you to be setting off fireworks, which is why I was so surprised it was you.” 

Adam almost forgot it was New Year’s eve. “I stopped coming here after we broke up,” Adam states, like it is the most obvious thing in the world. This is where they spent all of their time together at home. This is where Eric ripped out his heart. It made sense that he wouldn’t come back here after that. This was actually the first time he’s been here since the breakup. He doesn’t actually know why he came here tonight. He was just drawn here for some reason. “This is the first time I’ve been back actually.” 

“It’s like we were met to meet again.” Eric is smiling at him again, hopeful and warm. It makes Adam’s heart flutter in that annoying way it used to when they were together. Adam knows he is going to give him. He knows he is going to give Eric a second chance. Eric gave him so many chances and the least Adam can do is give him another chance. 

“You can’t just leave again.” The smile turns soft as Eric reaches forward again. He cups Adam’s cheek and he can’t help but lean into the touch. He hasn’t been physical with anyone since Eric left and he can’t help but realize how much he actually missed it. 

“I promise I won’t,” Eric whispers, leaning forward. He stops a breath away, eyes glancing down at Adam’s lips only to meet his eyes again. Adam lets out a soft sigh as he leans forward to connect their lips again. This time feels right. It feels like coming home. 

The only problem is the chair doesn’t hold this time. Eric shifts his weight and the chair tips back, only for the legs to snap. Adam lands with a thud and a groan. “Shit,” he sighs, only to try to push himself into a sitting position that causes pain to shoot up his arms from his cuts. 

“I’m so sorry!” Eric shifts back, helping Adam sit up. “We haven’t even looked at your knees yet. Shit, I can’t believe this is the second time I caused you to fall today.” Adam can’t help the fond smile that pulls up his lips, shifting enough to pull the last of the metal chair out from under him. 

“It’s fine,” he states. “It happens all the time.” More often that Adam would like to admit actually. He would normally be a bit annoyed at himself, but today ended with a lapful of Eric so he doesn’t really mind today. 

“I think we should get you home so we can clean you up,” Eric says. Adam does have to agree. He’s pretty sure the metal from the chair cut his leg and his knees are still in rough shape. Plus, he wanted to get this coat in the wash before the blood settled into the fabric. 

Adam nods as Eric climbs up, reaching out a hand for Adam to take. He does just that, letting the other help him up as he’s careful of the cut on his palms. Eric takes a moment once they are both standing, bringing Adam’s palms up to his lips to give each a kiss again. Adam lets out a sigh as he watches the other. “Please don’t leave again.” He knows they went over this, but he needs to say it again. 

“I won’t, I promise.” Eric doesn’t break eye contact as he says that, hands holding onto Adam’s. It’s a moment of silence between them, promises sitting in the air. Eric is the first to break the silence again, a smile pulling up his lips. “I can’t anyway. I just bought a business.” They have so much to talk about. “Actually, I’ve been looking for just the right electrician to help me. Do you know any?”

Adam just chuckles, shaking his head as he starts toward the path out of the junkyard. Eric is still smiling as he slips his arm around Adam’s waist, glass crunching under their feet. Adam can’t help the smile on his lips as he drapes his arm over Eric’s shoulder. This feels right. This feels like home. Adam can’t help but admit that it feels good to come home.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed. Feel free to send along prompts.


End file.
